A/N: This grew a life of its own… And it needs one more chapter to finish it off. KatieBoom, you've helped me create a monster!
As celebration of completing NaNoWriMo, I'm posting this early. I just finished it today, and I want to share it with all of you time meow!
Chapter 2
Cobra was instantly aware of the silence in the guild as soon as he and Kinana made their way through the doors. It had been like that for two weeks, and it was driving him crazy. Between the twins constantly crying, their son being a brat more often than not, and the fights with his wife on a daily basis, he was already on the verge of losing his mind.
And Lucy having disappeared the day that Mira had forced her secret out in the open only made it worse. Even though they'd grown so far apart over the years, he still cared about the blonde.
Mira's usual smile was gone. Natsu was quiet and hadn't challenged anyone to a fight for the past week, after he'd gone to Lucy's apartment to check on her and found the blonde wasn't there, and hadn't been for a while.
If Cobra really listened in, he could find her soul, so he knew she was at least alive. But she was too far away for him to hear what she was thinking about. All he could hear was the soft melody that he knew was Lucy, somewhere in the distance. In some direction he couldn't determine.
"I'll take the kids," he said while pressing a kiss to Kinana's cheek. "Do some relaxing for a bit, okay?"
She nodded and walked over to the bar to chat with Mira, leaving Cobra with the twins and their son. "Hey, Mira."
"Hey, is everything alright?"
She shrugged and propped her chin in her hand. "I'm apparently on relaxing duty," she muttered.
The barmaid smiled as her gaze shifted to where Cobra had taken the kids, to the table that held her own husband and daughters. The "Play Corner" of the guild that Freed had made when everyone started having their own families, and needed a safe place for the babies to be. "It's so sweet of him to do that," she sighed.
"Right," Kinana huffed. "Sweet."
Mira's brows furrowed as she turned back to look at her lavender-haired friend. "Isn't it?"
"Or it's just his way of saying that I'm being an uptight bitch." He'd called her that just that morning while they were eating breakfast.
"Well, I know that Laxus likes to give me time to myself," Mira said carefully. "It's hard being the one taking care of the babies all the time, no matter how much I love it. So, he tells me to just go relax as his way of saying that he's noticed I need a break."
"Since he doesn't want to deal with you nagging at him?" Kinana whispered sadly. "Because that's what he tells me."
Mira set down the rag and glass she was holding and gently pulled Kinana's hands into her grasp. "Have you tried talking to him about the way he talks to you?"
"He doesn't listen…"
Mira gave her a patient smile. "This is Cobra we're talking about, Kinana," she whispered. "He's always listening. And I'm sure he knows what you're feeling right now, and when he says things like that. Maybe that's why he told you to come relax instead of saying it another way."
"I… I don't know," she whispered. "I've been thinking about separating for a bit…" She winced when Mira's eyes widened in horror. "This whole thing with Lucy just kind of pushed it over the edge. He knew and never told me about it, and it just makes me wonder what other secrets he kept from me. And then there's Lucy… She loved him for all this time, but never did anything about it? I mean, what if one of those times he was late in coming back from a mission…"
"Kina."
She froze at the low, controlled growl that sounded from just next to her. She hadn't even thought about the fact that he could hear her. Not just her soul, but what she was saying. But she couldn't move, not even to pull her hands from Mira's.
"We're not separating, and you and I are going to fucking counseling."
"Wh-What?"
Cobra sighed and moved behind her, then wrapped his arms around her waist. His fingers gently trailed over the stretch marks on her hips, hidden beneath her dress. "I said we're going to counseling," he whispered into her hair. "I talked with Sparky about it, and he gave me the card for the guy him and Mira saw."
"Y-You guys…" Kinana's jaw dropped when Mira smiled gently and nodded.
"We're having more issues than just Lucy," Cobra said. "And I can hear the shit you're thinking about all the time, but you never say it to me."
"Is Lucy even really an issue?" Mira frowned. "You and her never…"
"Never," Cobra said. "She was only ever my friend. But I'm glad that she was the one to put the distance between us, now that I'm finding out just how little faith you have in my loyalty, Kina. Otherwise you would have more reasons to think I'm a horrible fucking monster that would cheat on you."
"Erik…"
"Counseling," he whispered again. "I don't want to lose you, beautiful. So we'll work it all out and sort through this shit, okay?"
"But what about Lucy?" Kinana asked.
"No one knows where she is," he said. "She's not in our marriage though. Just me and you."
"But don't you care that she's missing?"
"Sure, because she's nakama. But I have to take care of my family first."
Mira's hands slid back across the bar as Kinana turned in Cobra's arms to bury her nose against his neck. Just as she was about to pick up the rag and glass she'd been cleaning before, the lacrima under the bar started to pulse. She lifted the orb and answered the call, smiling when she saw Gildarts' face. "Hello, Gildarts. Do you need to speak with the Master?"
"Nah," he chuckled. "Well, maybe. I just realized that I've been gone for a couple weeks already and we forgot to let someone know she was coming with me."
Mira's lips pursed in confusion. "We?" Her eyes widened when he turned the lacrima to show a simple inn bedroom, and the blonde Celestial mage curled up in an armchair with a book lying open on her lap, her head canted to one side as she quietly snored. "Lucy… What's she doing there?"
Gildarts turned the lacrima again so his face filled the screen. "I invited her," he said softly. "She seemed like she needed to get away for a bit."
Mira bit her lips while glancing at the Poison Slayer and his wife. It was her fault that Lucy's affections for Cobra had been outed to the whole guild, and the reason that he and Kinana were having more problems than before. Lucy wouldn't have needed to run away from them if she hadn't been so involved in sticking her nose where it didn't belong.
Kinana's head lifted only slightly as she looked at her fellow barmaid. "How long will they be gone?" she whispered. It wasn't that she wanted the blonde gone, but she knew it would be a little easier for her to work through things with Cobra if Lucy wasn't around. And that just made her feel like a horrible friend.
"A few months or so," Gildarts grinned. "Should be long enough for her to work through whatever it is that happened."
"You mean you don't know?" Mira asked, blinking in surprise when he shook his head. "Well-"
"Mira," he scowled, "It's not any of my business. If Lucy wants to tell me what you made her say with that truth serum you slipped in her drink, then she'll tell me on her own time." He paused when the Takeover mage's face fell and her brows drew together. "I understand that you just want to help people, and that's a wonderful thing, Mira. But whatever happened… Whatever she said… You really hurt her."
"I didn't mean to, though," she whispered. "I just wanted to help her find someone, and Lucy never tries to-"
"So?" he chuckled. "Mira, sometimes people are fine without love. It makes things amazing, but it also hurts. And from what I can tell, Lucy's been feeling a whole lot of hurt from loving the wrong person." His eyes cut to the side for a moment and a small smile ticked the corners of his lips. "Just let Master know that Lucy's with me. We're sending a letter to her landlady later on to let her know Lucy will still be paying her rent."
"Is she… Lucy's doing okay, right?" Kinana asked.
"Yeah, she's doing just fine. You guys have fun."
Mira sighed as the connection cut off, staring at the darkened orb with regret swimming in her eyes. "I just can't believe we never knew Lucy was hurting like this…"
"She's good at hiding shit when she wants to," Cobra sighed.
"And you-"
"She learned how to block me years ago," he muttered. "I only heard what she let me hear. Just that she was happy for me and Kina and the kids. Sometimes it would slip that she still felt the same way about me, but Lucy always just pushed the thought away. And she'd remind herself that I was happy, that she couldn't do something to take that away."
Mira sighed while looking across the guild, to all the happy families and new faces that had come in through the years. Any number of them would have thought the same things as the blonde, but she wasn't sure just how many could have put the bitterness of always being second best to the side. How had she managed to do something like that? To just allow happiness for Cobra and Kinana to fill her, and to push her own desires to the background for his sake?
Lucy really had loved him all this time. And there was nothing that anyone could do about how things had turned out.
"Gildarts, we've been travelling for three months," Lucy sighed while hefting her pack higher on her shoulder. "What exactly is this mission you took?"
"Oh, I still haven't told you, huh?" he laughed. Gildarts reached back to grab Lucy's hand and helped the blonde pull herself up the craggy rocks they were climbing over.
"No," she grunted. The blonde let out a huffing breath as a sharp rock cut into her outer thigh when her foot slipped.
He grinned as the blonde's grip on his hand tightened. "Don't give up on me now, Princess," he laughed.
"Oh, I'll show you a princess," she ground out. Her metal fingers finally found purchase in a small groove in the stone. Then her boots on two small steps that were just barely close enough for her to reach. Once she was done climbing, Lucy collapsed into a panting mess on the flat ledge. The sound of Gildarts rummaging through her bag drew her attention, and she peeked one eye open to look at him.
A roll of bandages, bottle of water, and some tape.
"I… I can do it," she panted. "Just… gimme a minute… to catch my breath." She was sure that the sudden exhaustion in her body was overpowering the pain in her leg from the cut.
He gave her the same smile he always did, gentle and carefree, as he opened the bottle and poured a little water onto the gash in her thigh. "Just relax for a minute. I'll do this."
"No, really… I can…"
"Lucy," he laughed. "Relax. We still have some climbing to do before nightfall." His smile stayed in place when she hissed in pain as he carefully cleaned the wound.
The blonde nodded with a roll of her eyes. She wasn't out of shape in any sense of the word, but she was still breathing as though it was the day she'd met Natsu and had been dragged through Hargeon. That was the first time she'd ever really run away from something, namely the Rune Knights.
She'd sworn to herself that she wouldn't run from things anymore. And even though it had been three months since getting away from the guild, she still felt like she was running. Not doing this for herself or to put some distance between herself and Cobra, or Kinana, or Mira, or her problems. Just running away like a little crybaby.
Gildarts put the supplies back in her pack, then reached into his own to pull out two apples and a small bowl. He settled one on Lucy's open hand and grinned down at the blonde when she looked at him again.
Lucy found herself smiling when the apple Gildarts had been holding suddenly broke apart into small, bite-sized cubes, then fell into the bowl. "You must have such an easy time when it comes to cooking stews," she teased while handing him the second apple.
"You've had my cooking," he said. "You tell me."
"This is true," she laughed. The first time Gildarts had been allowed to handle the meals, he'd gotten startled by a deer prancing into the little clearing they were sleeping in for the night. His hand had barely nicked the pot holding their dinner, and he sent all of it flying in every imaginable direction. The pot itself was sitting in a pile of cubes by the time Lucy had returned from the nearby stream.
The second and last time she'd let him cook, Lucy had ended up with food poisoning. Thankfully, everything came right back out of her mouth, because they weren't near a town or toilet. Having explosive diarrhea in the woods really wasn't her cup of tea.
Gildarts placed the bowl on the ground and laid down with his head propped on his hand. "Need some water?"
Lucy nodded and took small sips of the water bottle he'd used to clean her leg off. Once she was done and resting easily back on the ground, the blonde's eyes slid closed. The weather was perfect right then up on the ledge. They would be getting into the colder parts of the mountain range soon enough, maybe in the next day or so, but for the time being she was loving every cool breeze that brushed her ponytail across her bare shoulders.
It was just her and Gildarts, and with the amount of scars he had, Lucy didn't feel so self-conscious about the ones she'd gotten either. It meant she'd pulled out the tank tops and shorts that she'd so long ago abandoned.
"Open up," he whispered.
With another small smile, Lucy's lips parted on autopilot and she was instantly rewarded with a small chunk of apple slipping past her teeth. She sighed as another breeze swept across her glistening skin, barely catching the sound of Gildarts taking a bite for himself. "This is nice," she whispered.
"It is. I definitely don't mind the company."
Lucy peeked up at him just as he brought another piece of food to her lips. "You still haven't told me about the job. If I'm gonna help…" She paused to swallow, then rolled her eyes when he instantly fed her another piece. "I need to know what we're doing."
"Do you remember that 100-year quest I was on?" he asked. "It's the same one. I'm hoping we don't run into Acnologia again."
"What's the job though?"
"We have to find some book buried in a pyramid."
"Then why are we in the mountains?" she laughed. Lucy rolled onto her side and mimicked him, her head resting on her hand. She plucked a piece of apple from the bowl and held it up to his lips, then tossed it into her mouth just when his opened to take it.
Gildarts chuckled quietly as she brought another bite up to his lips. "We have to go through the mountains and find a cave. The right one will lead us underground, where we go through a tunnel out of Fiore and into Bosco. The pyramid is in Desierto, so most of the mission is just travelling to get there."
"And you found Acnologia doing this?" she asked. Lucy did nothing to hide the uneasiness in her voice.
"Purely by accident," he chuckled. The truth was, he'd gotten more than a little turned around a few times in the mountains and wound up only a few miles south of Seven, in the opposite direction of where he was supposed to go. If he could help it, Gildarts would steer clear of those peaks, just in case the dragon was still slumbering over there.
"What's the catch then?" she asked around a mouthful of apple. "It's been around for at least a hundred years for a reason…"
Gildarts hummed as she pushed more fruit between his lips. Lucy's metallic fingers brushed across his facial hair as her hand lowered, a habit the blonde had picked up when she was thinking about something. "The pyramid is a tomb, and it's said to be cursed."
"And you're dragging me into it," she snickered. "You're a cruel man, Gildarts." Her laughter only grew as he bopped a finger on her nose.
"The cruelest and most horrible of men," he grinned.
"I know," she nodded. "I mean, what kind of guy asks a younger woman to be his wingman in a bar while on a mission?"
"Did I do that?"
"Two days ago," she deadpanned. "I slept outside so you and… Marlene, maybe?... could get your freak on. You're welcome, by the way."
He frowned and grabbed Lucy's hand before she could feed him the last of the apples. "I didn't mean to make you-"
"No worries," she said, forcing a small smile. "I'm not going to stop you from enjoying yourself, Gildarts."
"Lucy…" He sighed as she popped the last piece of fruit into her own mouth and sat up, already dusting her hands off. After spending every waking moment around her, he'd gotten to know her a lot better. And still, she hadn't told him a thing about just why she'd wanted to get away from the guild for a while.
"Don't do that smile," he groaned.
"What smile?"
"The one you use when you're upset and you think I won't notice the difference."
She paused, then looked at him over her shoulder with a bright grin. "I don't know what you're talking about, Gildarts."
"That's even worse."
"How so?"
"Now you're lying about being upset and trying to hide it…" He slowly sat up and gently grasped her hand before she could pull away from him any further. "I'm sorry."
Her smile faltered, then melted into a look of deep regret. "Why are you apologizing?" she whispered. "You're a free man, Gildarts. Do your thing."
"Will you tell me?" he asked softly. "What happened in Magnolia?"
"You know I don't want to talk about it."
"Then this really is running away," he countered. "Not facing it, not dealing with it even after three months… You can talk to me, Lucy." It had taken an entire month for the blonde to really smile again, and he didn't want that to disappear. "I know I'm probably not the best role model for relationships, but…"
"It was Cobra," she finally whispered, looking out over the horizon. She couldn't bear to see the shock plastered across his face. "Is Cobra. He was my best friend, and I stupidly fell for him."
"Falling for your friend doesn't sound like such a bad thing," he whispered. "I fell for Cana's mother and married her… And if I'd paid more attention to her, we probably would have been together 'til the end."
"Yeah, well Kinana got him," she muttered. "Or, he chose her over me, I guess. I know he heard what I felt for him… But I never stopped loving him."
"So, you had to just watch them be together," he frowned. When Lucy nodded and he saw the first tear trickle down her cheek, he was drawn back to the Christmas party in the guild, years ago when she'd still been getting used to her prosthetic arm. When the guild had celebrated Kinana being pregnant for the first time. How Lucy had left right after the announcement, but not before going to hug the purple-haired barmaid and congratulate them.
Then, all Gildarts could think about was all the times he'd seen Cobra with Kinana, and Lucy across the guild, simply watching with a soft smile.
She'd consoled Kinana during both miscarriages, but never talked to Cobra.
Lucy was there with a present for each of their three children at baby showers, birthdays, Christmas… But she'd put herself in the position of just another guild mate, for the sake of Cobra's relationship.
"You're… You're one hell of a woman, Lucy," he finally said.
"How do you figure?" she sniffled.
Gildarts sighed and moved closer, pulling the blonde into his arms. While it was something he'd never thought would happen, Lucy really didn't seem to mind all that much that he liked hugging her. She even encouraged it sometimes. The blonde fit so easily in his arms, and her head always found just the right spot for her to be comfortable in moments. "All this time, and you can still find it in yourself to love the guy…"
He winced when she only started crying harder, but Gildarts simply held her just a little tighter. "Most people would have given up, Lucy," he whispered. "And I think you might be the only woman in the world who can still be a great friend to Cobra and Kinana, even though he didn't choose you."
Her shoulders began to shake and her arms wound around his waist in desperation. "If it was me, I don't think I could have done what you did for them."
"I h-hate myself for it," she sobbed.
"Why?"
"Because I want to hate K-Kinana, but…"
"That's just not who you are," he nodded in understanding. He knew she just wasn't capable of something like that. No matter how much it must have hurt her, Lucy was only ever concerned with seeing that the man she loved was happy.
"And do you know what the worst part is?"
"What's that?"
"Part of me hoped they would get divorced… So I'd have a chance with him. Even today, I just… It's so selfish, but I still want him to l-love me."
"It's not selfish to want to be loved, Lucy," Gildarts said.
"It is selfish," she sobbed. "I saved everything f-for him… M-My first kiss and… God, I'm just pathetic!"
A sharp streak of surprise dashed through Gildarts, and he stared down at the top of Lucy's head in amazement. He knew she was in her late twenties, but to never have even been kissed because she was waiting for the guy she loved to see her as more than just his friend?
And even though Gildarts wanted nothing more than to offer himself up as a replacement, he couldn't. The last thing Lucy needed was someone hitting on her, or trying to make a joke when she was in pain. And he had a feeling that, as she continued crying and her tears soaked into the fur in his cloak, this was the one thing she'd never let herself really feel. Instead of trying to move past her feelings for Cobra, Lucy had simply pushed it all to the side so she didn't have to deal with it.
"It's okay, Lucy," he whispered as his arms tightened around her.
He was sure she needed this. To finally let herself feel the pain that loving the Poison Slayer had caused her. To let someone else know just how much the past decade of being alone, pining for someone she couldn't have, had broken her heart.
Lucy smiled as she shifted Gildarts' metal arm where it was draped across her shoulders and helped him limp back into the cave they'd been staying in for the past week. "Are you sure you're alright?"
"Yeah, just my leg," he said, his voice low and controlled while he tried to ignore the pain that had grown from a dull ache to daggers stabbing his thigh above his prosthetic.
"How long has it been bothering you?"
"Just a little while."
Lucy shook her head while leading him over to where their bedrolls had been. They were supposed to be moving on from the cave, now that the rain had stopped. There was a village less than ten miles away, nestled in the mountain range. But she could tell they weren't going to be making it there right then. If he couldn't walk without tripping, they wouldn't make it very far before Gildarts just toppled over and died by falling down the side of the mountain.
They hadn't gotten very far before they had to turn around, at her insistence. If there was one thing Lucy found surprising about the older man, it was how stubborn he was concerning his ability to move around while in pain. But she could see it in his eyes as soon as he was sitting down, that instant relief from the weight of his body bearing down on his leg.
"So, since you woke up this morning?" she asked. "Or was it yesterday when you tripped over that invisible rock as soon as you came back with food?"
"Two days ago," he groaned while leaning against the cave wall.
"Gildarts…"
"Don't worry about me, Princess," he chuckled. "I might be getting older, but I'll be fine in about ten minutes."
"What have I said about calling me princess?" she frowned.
"Force of habit," he said, shifting against the wall slightly while stretching out his leg. His hand slid down to massage his thigh just above the strap that held his leg in place. "Gimme thirty minutes, and I'll be ready to go."
Lucy rolled her eyes and sat on the ground at his side to start pulling his boot off.
"Hey, hey," he huffed trying to shuffle away from her. "Don't - Ow!" His head slammed back against the stone wall as the muscles in his leg cramped. "Shit!"
The blonde shook her head as a small portion of the ground beneath his hand exploded. Four months of being around the Crash mage had made her almost entirely immune to surprise explosions. "Gildarts, it's fine," she said softly while pulling the boot off to reveal his heavy metal leg. "Marty told me what to look for in case mine started acting up."
"Th-That's not it," he hissed. "The l-leg's working fine."
Lucy's lips pursed and her fingers stilled while running over the hinge at his knee. "It's your leg leg?"
"Yeah…"
"Can you roll up your pants?"
Gildarts shook his head quickly as the pain in his leg intensified. He wasn't even aware of the shuffling Lucy was doing until he felt her fingers fiddling with the fastening on his pants. "Wh-What the-"
"You're wearing underwear today, right?" she winced, pausing to look into his eyes. The day he'd bent over in front of the fire and his pants had split right down the middle, showing off his bare ass beneath, was still burned into her memory.
"Yes!"
"Then I'm taking your pants off," Lucy said matter-of-factly. If she couldn't roll his pants up to look at his leg, then pulling them down was the only other option. Of course, he wasn't much help in that department, but she couldn't really blame him. For the first time, Lucy was seeing him in pain, and it hurt. Even when the clumsy dope bumped his head, he laughed it off.
Finally, she was able to get his pants down, and the blonde completely ignored the grey boxer-shorts to look at his thigh. The reddened, slightly swollen flesh around the harness that held his prosthetic had her grimacing. She knew for a fact that, for all he joked about not being bothered by his lost limbs, Gildarts didn't like being seen without the prosthetics.
Still, he probably needed a break from walking, and his leg needed to breathe.
"W-Wait, Lucy," he panted as her fingers lowered to his leg. "Don't…"
"You watch me take my arm off every night." She unbuckled the leather straps. "And you never say a word to make me feel weird about it." The blonde found that his leg was much heavier than she'd anticipated, and she really had to hand it to him for being able to walk with the thing in the first place.
"But-"
She looked into his pained eyes again while pulling the metal away and setting it off to the side. "Gildarts, do you really think I'd be weirded out by seeing it?" she whispered. "We're in the same boat. And at least you have part of your arm and leg left. Mine's gone at the shoulder."
He bit his lip and accidentally blew another small hole in the ground.
"Now, just try to relax," she said. "And tell me what's hurting."
"Locked up… Whole thing… Shit!" If he knew that cutting it off would work, Gildarts would have told her to do just that. And while he was more than ready to see Lucy have some sort of reaction to seeing what was left of his leg as she looked down, there was nothing. She didn't make a face, or show any outward disgust.
Lucy gently touched the bottom of his leg, just above where his knee had once been, her fingers barely feathering over the scarred flesh. "Is it worse here?" she asked. He nodded again.
Her hands lightly trailed over his leg, slowly adding more pressure while drawing soothing circles in the tensed muscles. It was something he always did at the end of the day, after removing his leg. Just massaging the half-limb and getting rid of the tension that had built up over the course of the day.
But no one else had ever done this for Gildarts. Not since he'd gone through physical therapy to learn how to walk again. The nurse that had helped him was damn beautiful, so of course he hadn't had an issue with her hands on him.
Her never thought Lucy, of all people, would be willing to do this.
The blonde smiled as she worked higher on his thigh. "How's that?" she whispered.
"A little better."
With one hand still running over the soft hairs on his leg, Lucy reached down to finger her keys. Moments later, Virgo appeared with a small container holding peppermint scented lotion.
Gildarts nodded to the maid spirit when she stood from her bow, watching as she silently walked over to the smothered fire and started rebuilding it for them to use later on. Four months with Lucy, and he still found how useful her spirits were in any scenario absolutely fascinating. He hummed as her suddenly chilled fingers swept across his leg and the scent of peppermint and berries crawled up into his sinuses.
"This should help loosen you up and take some of the pain away, okay?" Lucy whispered.
"Mm-hmm…"
They sat in silence as she kept working. Around the bottom of his leg, not even batting an eye over the knotted, scarred flesh. The front, all the way up to his hip, even pushing her fingers beneath the hem of his underwear to reach her goal. And then Lucy surprised him.
Gildarts hadn't realized his eyes were closed until they shot open to stare at the blonde. She moved closer and lifted his leg into her lap, then her hands shifted to massage the back of his leg. It wasn't even a matter of how wonderful it felt to have her easing the muscles. It was just how close Lucy was, how careful she was. How she still didn't seem to be affected in the slightest by what she was seeing. Or touching.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" she laughed.
"You're just a bucket of surprises," he said.
"Not a barrel?" The week before, he'd said the same thing because she'd decided to braid his hair into his beard while he slept. And Lucy had nearly keeled over laughing at the look on his face when he saw his reflection.
"Not today. Just a bucket." He found himself grinning when the blonde pouted playfully. "A pretty bucket, though, so you've got that going for you."
"Oh, well as long as I'm still pretty," she giggled while adding a little more lotion to his leg. "Your arm is next, by the way."
"There's no need for that," he frowned. "My arm feels fine."
"So you say, but you also told me that your leg was fine until you couldn't walk."
He didn't care that she technically had a point. It didn't mean he had to like that he was wrong. Or what she was offering. "Still, my arm can stay on."
"You never take these off, Gildarts," she sighed. "Not when I'm around and conscious, at least. I mean, do you really think-"
"Lucy, you don't need to worry about my arm," he insisted.
"It's not like I haven't already seen it," she countered. His jaw dropped and she gave him a gentle smile. "I was curious, so while I was braiding your hair I peeked at your arm."
"You… what?"
She ignored how his jaw had fallen open and instead reached forward to loosen his cloak, then the fastenings under his sleeve that held his metal arm in place. "I've never seen it," she whispered. "I only know what my shoulder looks like, and I was curious."
"But… While I was sleeping!"
"I didn't look at your leg," she said, grunting as his arm came loose and she carefully set the heavy metal on the ground. She looked down at his real arm, and her fingers smoothed over the deteriorated muscle. "I just wanted to know how different it was from what I have."
Gildarts teeth clenched for a moment as her words fully sunk in. He wanted to be mad at the blonde for seeing him at his most vulnerable, while he was asleep and without his permission, but he just couldn't. Even though they were mages, being an amputee wasn't exactly the most common thing to encounter. He and Lucy were the only ones in Fairy Tail, after all.
And a little curiosity in this case, made sense.
He couldn't even try to be upset with the blonde as soon as she started rubbing gentle circles over his arm and shoulder. Because while he'd said that she didn't need to worry about his arm, she'd been right. It was a little on the sore side from prolonged use of his prosthetic.
His head tipped back to the wall, and Gildarts let his eyes slide closed. Who was he to complain about something like her seeing his arm or leg when all Lucy was trying to do was make him feel better? So, instead of saying a thing, Gildarts let her do as she pleased, and let out a long, slow breath while she started spreading some of that peppermint lotion over his arm as well.
By the time Lucy and Gildarts made it out of the mountains, after finally having found the cave system they needed to go through, they were exhausted. It was another month before they made it through the country of Stella, and they stopped again in a small tavern just outside the border of Joya to have a simple dinner and sleep in a real bed for a change.
The atmosphere was nothing like the guild would have been right then. There were no lumbering pines in the dim tavern to celebrate the Christmas holiday. For the most part, no one in the country seemed to celebrate it. Instead, they filled their winter months with what Lucy had come to find out was a different tradition altogether. Several days of small presents given to loved ones, the lighting of candles each night and a soft-spoken prayer in memory of a small band of soldiers who had fought against the corruption taking hold of Stella hundreds of years before the Dragon Civil War.
A seven-pronged candelholder sat in the tavern's front window with the final candle lit for the last night of their quiet celebration.
In the far corner, she and Gildarts sat in a booth and enjoyed their salmon, wine, and quiet conversation. It was so different from Fiore, from the guild. She honestly couldn't remember the last time she'd had a quiet holiday, but it was nice. Relaxing, even. She had to admit, it was rather enjoyable not having to dodge a turkey flying through the air well after it had been cooked.
And as she looked across the table to the man who'd kept her company and gave her a shoulder to cry on, with a grain of rice in his beard that she was sure he had no idea was there, Lucy found herself smiling even wider.
She lifted the napkin from her lap and reached across the table to dab at his chin. "You're such a messy eater," she teased.
He waited until he'd swallowed the bite he'd been chewing, then set down his fork with a small smile lifting his lips. "I'm better than Natsu though, so I'd say I have that going for me."
"Babies are better than Natsu," Lucy laughed. She could honestly attest to that. While watching Cobra's son and daughters eating at the same table as Natsu, the Fire Dragon Slayer had actually made more of a mess than them, combined.
But the thought of Cobra and his family had her smile faltering and her gaze drifting down to her half-empty plate. Five months since leaving with Gildarts, and no matter how many times she let herself cry over the reality of her life, no matter how many times she reminded herself that this was supposed to be a time for her to finally move on from the Poison Slayer, it still hurt to think that now everyone knew what she'd wanted to disappear so long ago.
Gildarts reached across the table and placed his hand over Lucy's, waiting for her to look at him again. Once she did, his other hand withdrew a small pouch from his pants pocket and he set it in her hand.
"What is this?" she whispered, staring down at the folded cloth with a simple string tied around it.
"Merry Christmas, Lucy," Gildarts said. "I know, it's probably a little weird, me getting you something, but… I just wanted you to have this."
"But I… I didn't get you anything, Gildarts. And Christmas was last week."
"I've already got my gift," he chuckled. They'd been travelling nonstop and hadn't even realized that Christmas had passed until the day before. They'd both had quite the laugh over it, to be honest. Her tear-filled eyes lifted from the pouch to stare at him. "I'm not alone. You coming on this job with me is more precious a gift than anything you could have found in a store."
"I-I'm not… Gil…"
He chuckled while reaching up to brush the tears from her cheek. "The older I get, the more I realize that holidays are a time for families to be together. We don't really have that right now. Cana's back in Fiore, and even after all this time, I know she doesn't really see me as her father. And while the guild is like a family… I'm still glad that I'm spending it with you, Lucy."
When she sat, speechless and silently crying, he slid out of his seat and moved to her side of the booth, then wrapped his metal arm around her shoulders.
"What's the matter?" he whispered.
Lucy shook her head and curled into his side while pulling the gift to her chest.
"Go on and open it." His hand brushed gently over her arm while her fingers fumbled with the string.
Lucy stared at the little silver locket in the shape of a door, with a small star engraved into the center of it. "Gil…" She'd become all thumbs, it seemed, when she couldn't figure out how to open the thing. Thankfully, Gildarts took pity on her and did it himself to reveal a Fairy Tail symbol on the inside of the door and a simple quote engraved into the metal on the other side.
The darkest nights
lead to the
best adventures.
"It's probably silly," he said.
"I-It's not," she sniffled. And finally, Lucy looked up at him and gave the Crash mage a watery smile. "It's perfect. Would you…"
He nodded and pulled the locket from her grasp, then carefully laid it over her breast and clasped it. And when they both looked down, he found himself laughing right along with Lucy when they realized that he'd put it on backwards, so all they could see was the silver backing. Gildarts had always hated putting necklaces on women before, for this exact reason. He always found a way to put them on backwards.
Once it was fixed, Lucy's metal fingers brushed over it and she rested her head on his shoulder. "Thank you, Gildarts."
Before he could say anything in response, the tavern's owner, a large woman with cherry red hair pulled into a too-tight bun, appeared at their table with a soft smile as she looked at the two mages. "You make such an adorable couple," she said.
Lucy and Gildarts froze and stared at her, broken from the little bubble they'd been in. They were just so used to being alone, just the two of them, that both mages had completely forgotten that they were actually in the tavern at all.
"W-We're not, uh…" Gildarts sputtered.
"We're just friends," Lucy laughed nervously. She didn't, however, try to remove herself from Gildarts' embrace.
"Friends?" the woman giggled. "Are you sure you're not something else?"
"Positive," Gildarts answered instantly.
"Just friends," Lucy said.
"Best friends," he nodded in agreement.
Lucy blinked in surprise at the Crash mage. "Best… friends?"
He turned a gentle smile toward the suddenly blushing blonde, and lightly squeezed her shoulders. "The best friend I've ever had, princess."
"When are you going to stop calling me that?" she pouted.
"Only when I'm old and grey, and you're changing my diapers."
"So in a couple years…"
"That's just cruel," he laughed.
The tavern owner shook her head as Lucy poked Gildarts in the side and pulled a high-pitched giggle from the bearded man. "Well, just friends," she grinned. "Can I interest you in some dessert?"
Lucy bit her lip to stifle a laugh when Gildarts pressed his fingers into her side. "Maybe in a little bit," she said. "I still have to finish this delicious dinner."
Gildarts nodded when the woman turned her attention to him. "Most likely," he grinned. "Lucy here doesn't look like it, but she's quite the vacuum when it comes to her sweets."
"Like you're much better," Lucy snorted.
"I'm an enabler," he shrugged.
"Then I'll just leave you two to finish your meals," the owner smiled. "More wine?"
"Definitely," they answered in unison. She left and returned with the bottle, refilling their glasses and moving Gildarts' setting across the table so he wouldn't have to get up, then left them alone once more.
And as the night continued, his arm never unwound itself from around Lucy's shoulders while they ate. Even when the table was cleared and they shared several brownies and ice cream, and several more glasses of wine, they were perfectly content to continue sitting side by side.
"Gildarts?" Lucy whispered while he settled the bill and placed several Jewel notes on the table.
"Yeah?"
When he turned to look at her, Lucy leaned up and pressed her lips to his. She wasn't sure what to expect from her very first kiss, but there were no fireworks and stars bursting behind her closed lids while Gildarts gently kissed her back. She felt something, that was for sure, but the blonde had to remind herself that not everything was like she'd read in books.
So instead, she just let herself experience his lips on hers, how it felt to have his facial hair brushed across her chin. He kept kissing her, slow and chaste, until Lucy finally pulled back and smiled up at him.
"Happy New Years, Gildarts," she whispered.
It took a couple seconds for it to sink in, but eventually he smiled down at her in understanding. For the sake of tradition, and because she was comfortable with him, she'd given him her first kiss. Not exactly the most romantic, but he'd take it. And he was more than honored that she'd decided to give that to him. "Happy New Years, Lucy." He pulled her into a tender hug, smiling into her hair.
"I'm glad you're my best friend," she sighed.
"Me too, beautiful." And he was. He hadn't been lying earlier in the night when he'd said that spending this time away from the guild with Lucy was more precious to him than any other gift he could have gotten. For the first time in years, he wasn't always alone. He had someone to watch his back - even though at this point in his life, he didn't really need it - and someone to just talk to while out on the road.
Gildarts had never really considered how lonely he'd been until Lucy had been sitting across from him, back in Magnolia, sipping at the weak (mostly disgusting) tea he'd made her.
"Ah, Cobra, is your wife not joining us today?"
The Poison Slayer made himself comfortable in the familiar plush grey armchair, shaking his head as he stared at the nameplate on the desk before him that read J. Kyouraku.
"Very well. I understand it's sometimes difficult to find a babysitter."
"Yeah," he whispered.
"Is there something you wish to speak with me about?"
His head lifted and his single eye locked onto the man who was only a couple years older than himself, with stark white hair and gentle brown eyes. "Yeah," he said softly while glancing at the picture on the therapist's bookshelf of himself and his brunette life-partner, hugging and smiling during a formal dinner. "But I need to know if me talking to you about anything will create a conflict of interest in mine and Kina's marriage counseling."
"Well, that depends on what you tell me. If it's something that directly relates to what we're discussing in your joint sessions with her, then it might come up. And it is better if there aren't secrets." He paused when Cobra's brow pinched slightly, a clear sign that the Poison Slayer had grown uncomfortable. "That's only if it does come up, Cobra. I won't ask leading questions and force you to talk about it while Kinana is around, if that's what you're worried about."
"I mean, I know I should talk to her about it, but… Doc, I just need someone to vent to. So I can sort this shit out before I try to talk to Kina about it."
"And there is no one you're close enough to outside of myself that could help you with this?"
Cobra winced. He knew what the guy was getting at, that he should try to depend on his friends in the guild to listen to him and help him work through problems. But this wasn't something he wanted to involve anyone else in. No one needed to know that he was thinking like this in the first place.
Finally, he said, "They wouldn't understand. It'd get blown out of proportion, probably. And that's not what Kina needs."
"What about what you need?"
"I don't care about that… I just want her to be happy."
"We've already discussed that you need to take your own desires into consideration, Cobra. Bending over backwards for her at every turn will only damage the foundation of your relationship."
"Yeah," Cobra nodded. "Regardless, I… I trust you to tell me how it is. You're good at that devil's advocate shit, and you've been our therapist for a while now, so you know Kina."
"Very well," he smiled. "What would you like to talk about today, Cobra?"
"Lucy."
"... I see."
"I miss her, and I don't know what I'm supposed to do about it."
"Has she come up recently?"
"No," Cobra sighed. "I've missed her for a long time though. Since before she left on that mission. Since… Since I lost her as my friend."
"And do you blame your wife for Lucy no longer being in your life the way she used to be?"
Cobra leaned back and ran a hand over his face wearily. This was part of the reason he liked the guy. It was almost like he could hear souls too. Jushiro always knew exactly what to say or ask. "I don't even know," he muttered. "I can't talk about it at all with Kina though. Ever since Lucy ran out that day, bringing her up at all is off-limits unless we're here. Because I know if I talk about her, my wife will just start thinking that I want to leave her for Lucy."
"Well, I can tell you that thoughts like this aren't exactly uncommon, Cobra. Kinana is a mother of three children. She might be insecure when comparing her body to Lucy's, since Ms. Heartfilia hasn't had children."
"That's not it," Cobra said. "She loves her body. She always has, no matter what."
"Then what do you think is the reason Kinana feels you'll leave her for Lucy?"
"I don't know," he groaned. "I wish I did, so I could just make it go away… I just want her to be happy again… And every day, all I can hear is that she's not happy anymore. That she thinks this counseling is a waste of time, because she's the only one who talks and I never say a whole lot."
"You are being more talkative today than in our other sessions."
"That's because I want her to feel like she can say anything she needs to. If I talk, then she could just turn it around on me later."
"Yet you could do the same thing to her," Jushiro mused. "And do you do that?"
"Never," Cobra frowned. "What she says… It's nothing I haven't heard from her soul already. I'm not surprised by it. I just want her to get it off her chest and feel like I'm actually listening to her."
"And do you think you would be having this same issue if it was you and Lucy together, and not you and Kinana?"
Cobra wanted to say no, because he and Lucy had always been on the same wavelength when they were younger. She understood him so damn well. Still, he thought about it. If he was with Lucy and not Kinana, would things still be like this? Would he still have issues communicating, no matter how well he listened?
"I don't know," Cobra finally said. "But I don't love Lucy like I love my wife. I never have."
"She's always been your friend," Jushiro nodded. "I can understand that. But Kinana was once your friend as well, wasn't she?"
"When she was Cubellios," Cobra said sadly. That had been an interesting story to tell the therapist, how Kinana had been cursed as a snake and had met the little slave boy who would one day become her husband. "With her, it's just… She makes me whole, Doc. Even as a snake, Cubellios was my whole world. And when I found Kinana again, it was like we'd never been separated. The sun shined out of her fucking ass, and I didn't give a damn about anything else in the world."
"And then you befriended Lucy," Jushiro said. "Did that change anything?"
"No," Cobra said, then frowned. "I mean, yes… sort of."
"How?"
"I had a friend that wasn't Kinana. Midnight and the others… we're friends now, but it's not the same as what I had with Cubellios, or with Lucy."
"So there have been only two women to hold a special place in your inner circle."
"Yeah… But… When it came out that I was dating Kina, Lucy just… She pulled away from me. She left me."
"When you and Kinana came to me, you told me that Lucy has had feelings for you for a decade, and never acted on it."
"She loves me," Cobra whispered. "And I never did anything about it. Sh-She never stopped loving me, but… I guess… Maybe part of me was hurting over the fact that I'd trusted her so much, and she just dropped me like a bad habit."
"Kinana says it was out of respect for your relationship."
"I know that. But it still fucking hurt. And when I heard her soul it was… This is my fault, isn't it? I didn't mean to do it, but somehow I made her keep loving me?"
"I don't think we can say that with any certainty," Jushiro said with a thoughtful frown.
"Or maybe Kinana just doesn't trust me because she remembers how I'd left her before…"
"When did you leave her?"
"When she was still a snake," Cobra muttered. "I was a member of the Oracion Seis…"
"Yes, I remember that time…"
"When Fairy Tail defeated us, I left Cubellios behind before the Rune Knights found me. I didn't want them to hurt her, but… I never said anything to her about it. I just disappeared… Sh-She still blames me for her being alone all that time…"
Jushiro grabbed the box of tissues from the corner of his desk and silently handed them to Cobra as he tried to blink back the tears welling in his eye.
"I-I don't want to lose my wife," Cobra sniffled. "I've lost everyone I've ever cared about, and I can't lose her too."
"That is why you both come to counseling," Jushiro said gently. "So we can work together to get through these issues, and build a solid foundation for the two of you to start communicating again."
Cobra nodded and dabbed at his eye, then wiped his nose. "C-Can you just… maybe tell me what I'm doing wrong? She's starting to think she doesn't love me anymore…"
"What does her soul say?"
"It's still there," he answered. "She does love me, but I… I can't even hold her now. A-And she knows that sometimes I just need to do it… Before Kina and the kids, I couldn't handle people touching me at all. I… I need her to h-hold me right now…"
Jushiro was silent as Cobra's quiet sniffles descended into full sobs and his head dropped to his hands in defeat.
"I wanna die," Cobra cried. "Every f-fucking day, I wake up and the first th-thing I think about is how I'll j-just kill myself… Take a mission and let a m-monster kill me… Slit my throat in the b-bathtub… I-I can't take it anymore..."
"Cobra, that-"
"I can't take her hating m-me… I know she does. She h-hates me, and all I e-ever wanted was for her to l-love me…"
"Cobra," Jushiro said with a small, concerned frown, "Is there someone I need to call for you?"
"But I've got Kina and the kids," he continued, his shoulders shuddering with the force of his sobs. "Th-That's the only thing that s-stops me… But if sh-she leaves, then…" Cobra leaned back and pulled his knees to his chest in the chair, not caring in the slightest what he looked like right then, because even if he'd wanted to stop… he just couldn't.
"Cobra, tell me what I can do to help," Jushiro said gently.
"I-I want m-my wife… Please… C-Can you… I need her…"
Jushiro quickly pressed a call button and contacted his secretary, thankful that she wore headphones so other patients in the lobby wouldn't be able to hear what was happening in his office. "Nanao, could you please call the Fairy Tail guild?"
"Sir, is everything alright?"
"Yes, Mr. Cobra just needs to see his wife right now. And, if you could stress that to Kinana… I think it would be for the best if they have someone watch the children while she's here."
"Of course, sir."
Jushiro ended the call and listened to Cobra crying. Never in his life would he have imagined that a man who so many still feared would end up this way. Just looking at him when he walked into the office every time he and Kinana arrived for their sessions, Cobra always looked composed. Generally angry, untrusting of the world. But Jushiro knew firsthand, through experiences with his own husband, that the most damaging things a person had to deal with usually stayed buried until they couldn't hold it back any longer.
Time ticked onward, but Cobra didn't calm down. It wasn't until there was a soft knock just before the door opened that anything changed.
As soon as Kinana was in the room, Cobra's head lifted and he looked right into her widened jade eyes. "Erik…"
"I-I'm sorry," he sobbed. "I'm s-so sorry…"
She shook her head in confusion and turned toward the therapist who was simply watching them. "What happened to him?"
"C-Cu, please… Don't leave me, okay? Please…"
"What did you do to my husband?!" Kinana shouted.
"I listened," Jushiro said softly. "He's made it clear that he doesn't want me to discuss what we talked about today."
Kinana looked back at Cobra, finding him curled up with his head lowered once again, and in an instant a distant, painful memory flashed in her mind. The day she and Erik had met, when he was smelly and shackled and too thin, curled in on himself and crying as quietly as possible so the guards wouldn't beat him again.
He never called her 'Cu' anymore. The last time he'd done it was when he'd had a particularly bad nightmare, just before their son was born, and had needed her to hold him until he'd calmed down again. Every time he called her that, she knew it was bad. That there was something happening that was pulling him back to really being Cobra once more.
She closed the distance between them, ripping his arms from around his legs and pulling Cobra to her chest. Between one breath and the next, his tears had soaked into her pale green blouse. "Erik, talk to me… What's happening, Coby?" It took several minutes for him to be able to speak clearly, but when he did, her heart shattered.
"I w-wish I was dead..."
"You what?" Her face paled when she looked over her shoulder to the therapist. "What is he talking about?"
"It appears your husband has developed severe suicidal ideation," Jushiro said. "From what I can tell, he's been considering it for some time, Kinana. Whether he'll go through with it or not depends on a lot of things, and I think we need to work through this and consider-"
"No hospitals," Cobra whimpered.
"No," Kinana said while stroking his hair. "No hospitals, Erik. I know you don't want to be locked up like that."
"There is medication and therapy," Jushiro supplied. "That's not my particular expertise, but I can give you a referral to a trusted associate of mine."
Kinana bit her lips in indecision. This wasn't something they could just talk about for a couple seconds and decide on. "Erik, why am I just now hearing about this?"
His arms tightened around her waist, but he didn't try to say anything.
"This is important," she whispered. "You know I can't hear you like you can hear me. You have to talk to me…"
"And s-say what?" he whimpered. "That I hear how m-much you hate me, and I know it's m-my fault? Cu, I-I… M-My nightmares came back, and all I can think about a-all the time is that they'll come true… Th-That you'll leave me a-and..."
"When did it start again?" she frowned.
"Two y-years ago…"
"You never told me."
Cobra shook his head and grabbed another tissue to swipe at the tears streaming down his cheek. "N-No point," he whispered. "You're so busy with the babies, and… I just wanted to make things easier f-for you… not harder… You don't n-need a fourth kid c-crying all over you and whining about s-stupid shit…"
Kinana blinked back her own tears while nestling her nose in his hair. She just couldn't understand how she had missed this for so long. That he'd needed her, and she just hadn't been available in any sense of the word. Part of her wanted to be angry that he'd kept something so major from her, that he would be selfish enough to even consider killing himself when he had a family that depended on him.
But she pushed it all back and set her focus on her husband. He never cried, with the exception of when she'd miscarried and when their three children were born. Cobra just wasn't a crier. The fact that it was happening now, and that the man so many thought was incapable of being weak was letting his walls crumble and showing her the toxic mess that was eating at his soul… There was no way she could turn her back on him. Regardless of the problems in their marriage, he needed a friend right then, if nothing else.
And since she was the reason he'd lost his only other best friend, Kinana knew that the job fell to her.
'It's not a job,' she reminded herself while kissing the pointed tip of his ear. 'I still love him. I'll always be there for him…'
"I l-love you so much," Erik sniffled.
"I love you too, sweetheart. Always and forever."
Once they were in the safety of the pyramid, Lucy pulled down the scarf wrapped around her face and removed the goggles she'd been wearing to keep the harsh desert sand out of her eyes. The sun beat down on her back in the small lit space for only a moment before Gildarts came in behind her. It was a long hallway ahead of them, from what she could tell, but the distant end was bathed in darkness.
And she knew from history lessons in ancient civilizations of neighboring countries that this wasn't going to be an easy undertaking. For the past year they'd been scouring the desert, moving from one small town to the next dozens of miles away, using the map that had been given to Gildarts when he accepted the job the first time around. Nearly thirty years ago. The terrain had changed. More villages had cropped up in that time. And no one they came across seemed to know a thing about this pyramid they were searching for.
Hell, they'd wasted a whole month trying to find the entrance, and then searching, the last pyramid they'd come across. And it had been the wrong one.
This time, though, Lucy knew it was the right one. The hieroglyphic writing along the walls was similar to what was printed on the map. She wasn't sure what it said, but the pictures were in the same sequences.
Freed or Levy would have been perfect for this job. She knew for a fact that the Rune mage had started using characters similar to these in his runes in the last decade. Every time a stray chair or table (or mage) flew into the barrier surrounding the "family corner" of the guild, bright purple writing would flash and repel it. And Lucy had spent more time than she cared to admit watching that part of the guild. She knew that she'd seen this curved ankh and those twin squiggling lines that looked like water.
"Well, we made it," Gildarts sighed. He guided Lucy forward slowly, keeping close behind her since the hallway was too narrow for them to walk next to one another, and took a swig of water from his canteen before holding it over her shoulder.
"Oh my god, water," Lucy moaned. She took only one gulp of the refreshing liquid before handing it back to him. They needed to conserve their water as much as possible. All of their supplies were being held in the Celestial Realm, and while Virgo had the ability to bring them more water, Lucy wanted her spirits to relax for as long as possible in case they ran into trouble.
Like that stupid sand serpent a few months prior that had taken a liking to her boot… and her whole leg. Luckily, Gildarts had stopped laughing at her leg being halfway down the thing's throat long enough to decimate it into little snaky cubes.
They still had jerky leftover from it. It was actually pretty delicious.
Lucy reached back and gently grasped Gildarts' metal hand with her own, ensuring they didn't get separated as they rounded a corner bathed in darkness.
"How are you getting through his hallway?" he whispered as they turned to the side to shuffle further into the maze. "I barely fit!"
"Suck it up, buttercup," Lucy giggled. He couldn't see that she was struggling just as much as he probably was to get through. 'Stupid boobs!' If the fabric of her shirt survived the scraping along old stone walls, she was going to give the craftsman some serious props.
"I am sucking it in!"
"Gil, you're ridiculous," Lucy laughed. Moments later, then stumbled out into a dimly lit room with a thin firelit moat running around its edges. In the center of the room stood an enormous statue of the ancient jackal-god, Anapa. The protector of the deceased and their tombs. The deity who decided the fates of souls before they could fully pass into the afterlife.
"You ready for this, princess?" Gildarts whispered as he sent his keen gaze across the room.
"Y-Yeah," Lucy gulped. She turned toward Gildarts when he gently squeezed her hand, then closed her eyes when his lips puckered on her forehead and their fingers laced together. It was the first time since she'd kissed him in the tavern in Stella that his lips had come in contact with her. They were still nothing more than friends, and that was something she was fine with.
"You're gonna keep my old, crippled ass safe, right?" he chuckled.
"You're not a cripple," she smiled as their foreheads pressed together. "If anything, I'll need you to get me out of trouble. I'm pretty much a magnet for it at this point."
"I think I can manage that," he laughed.
"Then I'll keep your wrinkled pa-tooty safe," she said.
"It's not wrinkly."
"Hairy."
"You lie," he grinned.
Lucy simply shrugged. "I've seen better." That was definitely a lie. She'd seen his ass several times since they'd left Magnolia, and it was definitely a top-notch rear-end. Nice and muscular. But the last thing Gildarts needed was a confidence boost about that.
He squeezed her hand again then looked toward the statue. His smile slid into a grimace when he saw the scattered bones and mostly withered bits of cloth that had once been clothing and travelling packs littering the ground around the large golden pedestal it stood on.
"We can do this, Gil," Lucy whispered. "And as soon as we're done, we get to celebrate."
"Hot springs," he muttered, never taking his eyes from the skeletons on the ground.
"I'll wash your back if you wash mine."
"You've got a deal."
Lucy turned and started making her way toward the statue, holding just as tightly to Gildarts' hand as he did with hers. There was no telling what they were going to find once they made it past Anapa. All she could hope for with each passing step was that she would get to see the sun shining again with Gildarts.
Update: There will be one more chapter to finish this story out. Apparently the note in the beginning caused some confusion.